Nadima Abu Al-Enein founded a group to unite Saudi women who enjoy riding bicycles — think a bicycle club, basically. They organize events and rides on their social media groups with a total number of 30 active members.
Nadima has loved bicycles since her childhood and this is what prompted her to think about creating the team. In her interview to Al-Arabiya she said the team always receives new members. They receieve training to teach them cycling and introduce them to safety requirements such as putting on helmets, gloves and shoes, as well as traffic regulations that everyone must follow for public safety.
Participation in sport by Saudi women has been extremely difficult in the past. According to a report in Arabian Business in 2012: “Sports in the patriarchal society of Saudi Arabia has long been reserved as an activity for men. Even stadiums for watching sports prohibit females to be present. Women are able to play in the privacy of their homes or in private schools but as soon as they step beyond that to play professionally or in organized teams in public competitions they are publicly slammed for going against their natural role.”
The team has not yet had the opportunity to participate in any competitions, whether local or regional, but Ndima said that they will consider it in their future plans, adding that the sport of cycling needs attention.
Their aim is to draw attention to female cyclists from all over Saudi Arabia, and help them pursue their love for cycling.
Even though Saudi women did manage to participate in sports nowadays, it’s almost impossible for them to work as a cycling mechanic. However, the time passes and today almost 22% of women can find a job in Saudi Arabia and the resume writing lab blog may be helpful for them.
